The present invention relates to a device and method for detecting a recording medium.
In the prior art, various devices for detecting the type of a recording medium (media type) have been proposed. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-346336 describes a detection device that emits laser light toward an optical disc, detects the reflected light, and compares a signal level of the reflected light with a predetermined threshold to determine the media type. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-302083 describes an optical disc recorder that emits laser light toward the recording surface of an optical disc to recognize the media type based on variations in the signal level of the reflected light, the intensity of the signal level, and fluctuation tendencies in the signal level relative to the intensity of the emitted laser light.
The prior art devices described in the above publications detect the media type using reflected laser light. This results in complicated processing. Further, the media type may not be accurately detected when the surface of the optical disc includes a scratch or a smear.
The prior art devices also cannot detect the media type unless an optical disc is loaded into a drive device. In other words, the optical device cannot be detected when a media tray projects from the drive device. Thus, there is no way to determine whether or not the optical disc is properly set on the media tray before retraction of the media tray into the drive device.